There’s a new shop in Marienville, supporting local artisans and celebrating the Pennsylvania Wilds region’s unique history! Next time you’re visiting the Allegheny National Forest & Surrounds landscape of the Pennsylvania Wilds, check out the newest PA Wilds Conservation Shop location.
In Forest County, a PA Wilds Conservation Shop has opened within an historic train depot in Marienville, along the nearly 74-mile Knox and Kane Rail Trail. Operated by the nonprofit PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship (PA Wilds Center), these mission-driven gift shops help improve market access for rural entrepreneurs by sourcing 90 percent of their inventory from rural makers and businesses in the 13-county PA Wilds region, while also accomplishing other mission points.
Photo: The sliding doorways looking inside the PA Wilds Conservation Shop in Marienville, in the former train depot building
The PA Wilds Conservation Shop in Marienville is currently open Wednesday-Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. More information can be found at ShopThePAwilds.com/PA-Wilds-Conservation-Shops.
Jenks Township, which owns the train depot where the PA Wilds Conservation Shop is located in Forest County, has led a years-long effort to rehab the building as part of a local revitalization effort. The township began talking to the Center in 2020 about potentially operating a Conservation Shop at the location, given how the nonprofit stores are positioned to help advance local tourism development and revitalization efforts.
Photo: Even on a cloudy day, the PA Wilds Conservation Shop in Marienville is full of interesting history, friendly people, and great local products.
Libby Bloomquist, Sustainable Commerce Director at PA Wilds Center, acknowledged that the PA Wilds Conservation Shop owes a great deal of thanks to the community members. “This train depot could have fallen into disrepair and its history would have been lost,” she said. “However, volunteers worked hard to give the building new life and preserve this special place. We’re honored to be able to lease this building for the PA Wilds Conservation Shop, and we hope to connect visitors to the area in a meaningful way.”
Each new PA Wilds Conservation Shop has created a full-time store manager and a store keyholder position, as well as part-time jobs. The PA Wilds Center invests thousands of dollars a year buying inventory and value-added products directly from local businesses for its gift shops. The shops also intentionally pass foot traffic to other area businesses, visitor bureaus, and attractions.
Photo: Some of the staff members who work at the PA Wilds Conservation Shop in Marienville
Bloomquist noted that each PA Wilds Conservation Shop aims to truly be a part of the community where it is located. “Not only are most of these products sourced and designed inside our rural PA Wilds region, but we curate each shop’s inventory and offer visitors products that authentically reflect their unique experience in the town,” she said. “For example, the PA Wilds Conservation Shop in Marienville sells a variety of train-related items to go along with the train depot and Knox and Kane Rail Trail. It’s no secret that locals also love Bigfoot, so we make sure to always have plenty of Bigfoot products too, including a special t-shirt with a cartoon image of Bigfoot waiting at the Marienville train depot!”
Photo: Inside the PA Wilds Conservation Shop in Marienville
There are currently more than 40 vendors supplying products for the Conservation Shops, a vast majority of whom are located in the PA Wilds and participate in the free Wilds Cooperative of PA network. The Wilds Cooperative seeks to connect and promote local businesses and is the entry point for those looking to tap into and leverage PA Wilds branding, marketing and commerce opportunities. Rural artisans interested in learning more about how to get their products into the shops are encouraged to visit WildsCoPA.org/join and apply.
The PA Wilds Conservation Shop at Leonard Harrison State Park also is a newly opened shop.
Photo: Some of the items for sale inside the PA Wilds Conservation Shop in Marienville
A community appreciation celebration and ribbon cutting is being held on August 30 for the Marienville shop. A grand opening celebration will be held for the shop at Marienville on September 28, in conjunction with Marienville’s Oktoberfest. A grand opening celebration for the PA Wilds Conservation Shop at Leonard Harrison State Park will be held in mid- to late-September. Find more info at PAWilds.com/events.
The flagship PA Wilds Conservation Shop, which opened in 2016, will continue to operate at Kinzua Bridge State Park, even as the Skywalk there undergoes maintenance off and on for the next three years starting later this year.
The funding to stand up the two new PA Wilds Conservation Shops came from a three-year Area Development grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to support the next phase of expansion for the work being done to help rural small businesses leverage the region’s growing outdoor recreation economy. The ARC funding will also help the Center create new licensing and professional development opportunities for rural entrepreneurs, support outreach efforts, and help underwrite key regional marketing projects to continue positioning the region as a premier outdoor recreation destination and create new economic opportunities.
Photo: The Knox and Kane Rail Trail, which runs directly past the PA Wilds Conservation Shop in Marienville
Can’t make it to a physical PA Wilds Conservation Shop? You can find many of the products, along with additional products from regional artisans, at the online PA Wilds Marketplace at ShopThePAWilds.com.
